Metro Awards $32K To Oregon City Schools' Music Programs

OREGON CITY, OR — Students within the Oregon City School District have long benefitted from an administration that has so far avoided financial cuts to the district's music and arts programs. This fall, those same students will again reap the rewards of an invested administrative body thanks to a generous Metro grant.

Written by the Oregon Schools Foundation (OCSF) on behalf of the middle school principals who advocated for funding, the $32,000 Metro grant will help the district purchase and maintain new and used band instruments for the music programs at both Gardiner and Ogden middle schools. However, OCSF officials hope the grant is only a part of what the community may be inspired to give to keep Oregon City's music programs alive and well.

"We have some big ideas and dreams for our city at the Oregon City Schools Foundation, " OCSF President Cira Collins wrote Patch in an email. "As we looked at our first steps in revitalizing the foundation, we wanted to ensure that we were meeting the needs of our kids and schools in a way other services could not. It was our middle school principals who identified the need for help in having new and fixed instruments available for our students, and thus giving the music programs at our middle schools new life and new momentum."

Students in the Oregon City School District are introduced to music programs in kindergarten and have the option of continuing on that path through high school, when more than 10 different options for band and choir classes open up as electives.

Beginning with 30 minutes of music instruction each week, "(Kindergarten students) learn about rhythm, simple music theory and genres of music," OCSD spokesman Michael Clark told Patch. "As they progress through elementary school, they learn to play various instruments like drums, ukuleles, and recorders. They also learn to read and compose music."

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Upon entering high school, students are given a choice of classes on musicianship and music theory or to join the concert choir, advanced treble choir, honors master choir, acapella choir, concert band, symphonic band, honors wind ensemble, jazz band, and/or marching band.

Annual performances and special concerts give the students a place to show off their developing talents, and sometimes the district even arranges for music students to take special trips to perform at national places like Disneyland and Washington D.C., as well as at local venues and events, like the Oregon City Homecoming Parade, the Teddy Bear Parade, and Portland's Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade.

"Our music program has stayed steady over the last several years," Clark explained. "Oregon City has demonstrated a commitment to the education of the whole child by protecting and maintaining music education as part of our core educational experience. Our community has provided strong support for music education by advocating and fundraising for band uniforms, events and activities."

"There are people in the community who have expressed willingness to support band instruments and maybe even uniforms,” OCSF Executive Director Ted Thonstad continued. “We are hopeful this grant will draw additional support to our band programs.”

Influential in securing the grant for Oregon City's students was Metro District 2 Commissioner Betty Dominguez. As a member of the selection committee overseeing the grant's dispersal, Dominguez said she was part of the conversation that ultimately led to determining who would receive the grant.

With kids and grandkids of her own in Oregon City-based music programs, Dominguez said anything she can do to assist or encourage the development and continuation of music programs is important to her.

"Developing an appreciation of music of all kinds opens the mind to new experiences, including music from other cultures," Dominguez told Patch in an email. "I have long lamented the lack of arts — including music, in schools today … Music can stimulate the imagination, provide comfort when needed, and be joyous. I remember studying opera in my middle school days. (I) didn't fully appreciate it at the time, but now, as an adult, I enjoy it."

For your own enjoyment, check out the Oregon City High School Marching Band perform at the 2018 Rose Parade in Portland:

Image via Shutterstock